Spring term modules

Religious and Political Controversies in Early Modern Europe

30 credits

Content

This module examines some of the central debates that pre-occupied early modern politicians, theologians, revolutionaries, scientists and philosophers alike. Subjects to be investigated within this culture of disputation and investigation include: issues of sovereignty and the divine right of Kings; republicanism; natural rights; the nature of virtue; the authority of the Bible; religious doctrines; predestination; the role of the Church and the Pope; the nature of the body and the soul. Students will be introduced to a number of important primary sources ranging from political treatises and religious tracts to philosophical meditations.

Introductory reading

Secondary sources:

J.H.Burns and Mark Goldie (eds.) The Cambridge History of Political Thought 1450-1700 (Cambridge, 1991)

A.Pagden, The Language of Political Theory (Cambridge, 1987)

Quentin Skinner, The Foundations of Modern Political Thought (2 vols., Cambridge, 1978)

Visual Culture and Empire in Early Modern Venice

30 credits

Content

This module investigates the connections between empire building and visual culture in Venice from the Renaissance to the eighteenth century. It examines both the ways in which trade and colonisation influenced Venetian artistic and cultural production and how images, texts and objects made empire visible at home ant motivated new imperial projects abroad. Through an interdisciplinary approach that combines cultural history, visual studies and postcolonial criticism, the module covers the following themes: representations of the Venetian 'State of the sea'; art and print culture in the Venetian-Ottoman wars; imperial ceremonies and rituals; colonial cartography; antiquarian collections; the Byzantine heritage; cross-cultural contacts with the Islamic world; early modern Orientalism. In discussing these themes, the module places metropolitan visual media and communication in the context of Venetian empire formation and treats the production and consumption of images as an integral part of Venice's commercial and political presence in the Mediterranean. There is no foreign language requirement for this module.

Learning Outcomes

Advanced knowledge and understanding of the reciprocal relationships between metropolitan Venice and its overseas empire.

Increased awareness of the relevance of empire in the study of Venetian visual culture.

Comprehensive understanding of the role of images and visual artefacts in particular historical, geographical, cultural and socio-political contexts.

Heightened awareness of key methodologies and theoretical debates in the field of visual culture studies.

Ability to analyse and interpret visual documents in a creative and imaginative manner

A History of Violence

30 credits

Content

This module explores the history and historiography of violence, focusing especially, but not exclusively, on Europe between the medieval period and the present day.

It has two principal themes. First, it examines the recent, important debate on whether and why violence has declined in the past half millennium. Domestic violence and crime, terrorism, war and genocide will all be discussed. The role of religion and secular ideologies, concepts such as honour, and the growth of state power will be among the issues covered.

Second, the module investigates the methodologies that scholars have used to explain the causes of violence, the different forms in which it has been practised and its incidence in history. Students will study cultural histories of violence and will explore how disciplines such as anthropology, sociology, and more recently behavioural sciences such as psychology and neuroscience, have contributed to understanding of human violence in history.

Learning Outcomes

You will be able to:

Acquire an understanding of recent multidisciplinary debates on violence; its causes, forms and trajectory in history

Gain an appreciation of how historians can draw insights from and fruitfully collaborate with other disciplines, as well the problems and pitfalls of interdisciplinary methodology